Ahead of G20, US Financial Policy Faces International Criticism

Fed's 'Quantitative Easing' raises concerns of hyperinflation

Later this week, world leaders will gather at the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea. The meeting comes just days after the Federal Reserve's decision to buy $600 billion worth of Treasury bonds through a process known as "quantitative easing." In response to the announcement, American stock markets reacted positively. World leaders abroad did not.

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[Bernanke's] view probably is that the best economic policy would be a combination of fiscal policy which would be more stimulus coming from congress and monetary policy...the problem is, partly because of the midterms, it doesn't look as if we're going to get another stimulus which leaves all the weight on the fed.

The South African Finance Minister said the move undermined the spirit of multilateral cooperation, and the head of Brazil’s central bank said it hurt his own country’s efforts to keep control of its own currency. Germany described the U.S. policy as "clueless."

We talk with Chrystia Freeland, global editor-at-large for Reuters, about how the American policy is being viewed around the world in advance of the G20. She's got a new column on the issue.